SCRIBES AND SYNAGOGGUES
Lester L. Grabbe
The
topics of scribes and synagogues could be treated separately, since it is a
matter of interpretation as to whether they had anything to do with each other.
Nevertheless, modern theories have not infrequently seen both scribes and
synagogues as ‘lay’ institutions, over against priests and the temple. Before
considering the question of their relationship, the two topics will be looked
at separately.
SCRIBES
Scribes
were the backbone of administration in the ancient and Hellenistic Near East.
As those able to read and write, and trained in record keeping and document
drafting, they were necessary in every society. When literacy and the
production of writings are discussed in scholarly writings on the Bible, the
place and importance of professional scribes is not always recognized.